Rahul Jacob

With the worst of Covid-19 yet to come, clear communication would help

The contrast of a virus as agile as something out of a myth and government edicts that seem slow-footed is a worldwide phenomenon

Love, loss and pandemics

Cromwell insists the rules of families' self-quarantining apply to everyone

Covid-19, economic 'comorbidities' put India's progress since 1991 at risk

By the time the debris of this economic earthquake settles, it may have buried the progress India has made since 1991

In this coronavirus lockdown, India feels like the calm before the storm

Strong social networks got India through the calamity of demonetisation. By not giving migrant workers enough time to get home, the govt has likely deprived them of this

Covid-19: Why the govt needs to change its approach to testing now

India's rate of testing is so tiny at roughly 10 per million that the real numbers of those infected are likely much higher than the current official tally

Tea with BS: Ashoka University's Gautam Menon on getting ready for Covid-19

Menon explains to Rahul Jacob why viruses are "a given of humankind" and why wearing masks as protection is ineffective for most people

All hail Leander Paes, legend who just played his last tournament in India

The joy that Paes brought to a tennis court was at its most infectious in mixed doubles

Trumps of the Tropics

There will be loud acclamations of two great democracies coming together, but think also of Qayoom and Kashmir before discussing whether "millions" Trump expects to greet him will help re-elect him

The Kiwi role model

Lessons from New Zealand about mobilising to prevent an environment going up in flames around us and combatting the feral Whatsapp politics of hatred are in many ways Gandhian - and global

A bureaucratic nightmare awaits us

The NRC process promises to be nightmarish and test India's under-staffed bureaucracy to the fullest

Implementation of NRC and CAA: Why a bureaucratic nightmare may be at hand

If the govt goes ahead with the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens, the process for the entire population may span 60-70 years - a test for India's under-staffed bureaucracy

Is Manu Chandra arguably India's best chef?

Great chefs are alchemists. They put ingredients and flavours together in ways that are sometimes unfathomable

Why Sri Lanka is a perennially irresistible destination for the visitor

Rahul Jacob visits Sri Lanka once more. Why he can't get enough of the warmly welcoming country

A champion for the rag trade

Shahi Exports MD, Harish Ahuja tells Business Standard the government needs a free trade agreement with Europe fast to ensure a level-playing field with Bangladesh and Vietnam

Why China's game plan to contain the unrest in Hong Kong may boomerang

Bowing to the mainland's public opinion and deploying troops could spark a financial panic in Hong Kong that would send China into a deep recession and lead to the collapse of some of its banks

Architect Channa Daswatte on how to avoid an urban apocalypse in India

Daswatte tells it is time to radically rethink zoning laws and heighten protection for water bodies to save our cities

Monsoon in Mumbai: Mixing work with pleasure in the manic metropolis

The prospect of being trapped on the roads among the city's hardened commuters has a damaging effect on my erratic work ethic; I elect to do the bare minimum

Selling Air India is not going to solve its problems, says Derek O'Brien

O'Brien has tried to fill the breach left by the near demise of the Left parties and the ongoing crisis in the Congress

To achieve its '$5-trn economy' goal, India must stop scoring own goals

China is now a $13-trillion economy and India's GDP is at $2.8 trillion, but who's counting?

Reforms reach a dead end

Even before this campaign of non-stop abuse and majoritarian flag-waving, Indian elections scarcely ever mentioned reforms